Comments

So many great ideas listed so far!
I’ve been a bride, matron of honor, bridesmaid, sister of the bride… yada, yada… So I have been to my fair share of bridal showers and have hosted a good many as well. It is such a fun occasion! Do not let the price tag of a bridal shower scare you! There are so many things you can do to save money! Also, having been a bride once myself, I can say that it wasn’t the amount of money that went into the shower that made it memorable. It was truly the people I celebrate with. My wonderful hostesses were so generous to event throw me a shower, I didn’t care about the expensive details that were there!

So here are a few of my tips, tricks, and suggestions:
-This whole “door prize” thing. I do not see the point in doing this. I have never been to a bridal (or any other type of shower) shower that have had a door prize. Favors… sure, but not a door prize. While it seems like a fun “perk” you should not have to offer an incentive for people to come to the party, even if that is not the intention.
-Favors: opt for homemade goodies. If you are into “jamming” or canning, send your guests home with some homemade jam. Use some ribbon that matches the wedding colors and a little “thank you” tag and you’re set! This is a great gift if it will be a large shower because you can make a large pot of the jam. You can buy jars on Craigslist or collect from family members or other maids, and all you’re left to buy is the lids!
Another gift goes along with the mason jar look. You can create your own bath scrub. Sugar, coconut oil, and essential oils in the flavor you choose. This is always a fun and girly hit!
-Decorations: Trader Joes has the best prices on flowers. Buy them the day of because you get what you pay for… their flowers tend to die quickly and you want them looking their best. Goodwill and DollarTree have so many vases for cheap! Buy a few bouqets and arrange them yourself. They’ll be unique and gorgeous. Like my mother in law always taught me, “You can’t mess up fresh flowers.”
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, Costco and Sam’s Club offers beautiful and high quality flowers for cheaper than Safeway/Kroger/Albertsons ect.
Like many people have listed, add fresh greenery from your yard or a neighbors. Also, baby’s breath is an inexpensive option that add a romantic and whimsical touch to arrangements.
I LOVE pictures… I’m literally obsessed. Whenver I throw a shower I’ll get high quality images from the bride. Engagement pics of the couple is awesome. I’ll buy 5-10 frames from the dollar tree and print off the pictures (no more than $.40/pic) and I’ll set those up around the party area. Near the gift table, food, ect. I also will print off love quotes, the menu, anything really and put those in the frames. Are the frames not the color you want? Just spray paint! You can pick up a bottle at Walmart or Hobby Lobby (use a 40% coupon!)
I’m not one for streamers and balloons but I love ribbon. THe problem with ribbon is that it can get expensive. Use Hobby Lobby or Michael’s coupons and shop sales. Stock up when the price is low because you’ll never know when you might need some!
Candles are a pretty, elegant touch. DollarTree sells packs of them! Dip them in some glitter and they look like expensive ones from Anthro or West Elm.
Banners are so cute but the ones you find are so expensive on Etsy. Construction paper, glue, string, glitter and patience is all you need to make your own adorable banners. Ideas: “She Said Yes”, “I Do”, Mr. and Mrs…. ”
-Invitations can be expensive. I’m all for the e-vite if that fits your budget. However, I am all fail snail mail invites. Browse Tiny Prints, Shutterfly, Pinterest, ect. for shower invite inspo and them do your best to replicate the design. Tiny PRints is constantly running 30-40% off promos and if you’re lucky you can grab that a send out their pretty invites! THat’s my go-to!
-Food. MAke it yourself. IF you’re on a budget, than a caterer is out of the question. I had a catered shower thrown for me and while it was fantastic, it was no better than non catered showers. You’re not feeding people a meal. Keep it simple and make a few appetizers, fruits and veggies yourself.
-Skipping alchohol is the best way to keep your food budget low. Opt for punch, water, tea if you need to save a few (“cough* a lot of) dollars. However, if you’re going to do alcohol, which I usually do, opt for champagne. You can get a bottle for under $5. Make mimosas or mix with other juices and you’ll use less champagne. People aren’t looking to get tipsy at a bridal shower, so must classy guests will stick to one or two, or will skip it all together.

Don’t stress the small details. The bride will just appreciate how much work and love you put into the party! That’s all that matters 🙂

The bridesmaids and I (mother of the flower girls) are hosting a bridal shower in two days. I can’t say the entire thing was necessarily on a budget since most of the items like linens, large chalkboard signs, etc. I already owned. BUT I didn’t have everything we needed, so for the items that we still needed to purchase here are a few tricks that we used:

-sign up for Joann’s coupons through email or text. I often get 40-60% coupons and use them to buy fabric. This fabric can then be used for dessert table or photo booth backdrops and/or table runners.

-If you drink coffee, begin collecting the glass starbucks bottles. Clean them and remove all labels. Decorate them as you wish and add a colorful paper straw. Voila!

-go to your local winery or restaurant and ask if you can take home wine bottles. Clean them up and paint them the color of your choice. Check out Pinterest for tons of ideas on how to use them as decor.

-find old artwork with neat frames and spray them with chalkpaint (make sure to tape up the actual frame). This is an inexpensive way to make a chalkboard frame. Then have the person with the best handwriting create the sign with a chalk MARKER.

-Purchase flowers, but collect tons of greenery from your very own yard! This will take up lots of space for free without having to buy tons of flowers!

-If you know your way around Microsoft Publisher, print your own menus, invitations, guest cards, signs, etc. Sign up for Michael’s craft store coupons and buy cardstock paper for 40% off. This will add extra details without breaking the bank.

-search your local thrift stores for vases. glasses, etc.

My biggest advice? It’s never too early to start planning! The earlier you plan, the more time you will have to find great deals and search unique places to purchase the necessary items. I personally love garage sales, thrift stores and coupons.

i am planning a shower for my co-worker. It is a rustic themed couples shower at my home. I have asked a few of the other girls at work to help out with the food. We will be grilling ( one of the husbands offered to be our chef). Brats and pork chops, fruit salsa, veggie tray, and sweet potato fries. One of the girls is bringing cupcakes in the shape of a wedding dress (idea found on Pinterest). I got nice paper plates, invitations, thank you notes, and clothes pins for the clothes pin game and toilet paper for the wedding dress game at the dollar store. I borrowed mason jars from my mom for drinking glasses and made table decorations out of old wine bottles and twine. I will be getting a small bouquet the morning of the shower. The prizes for games are a bag of kettle corn with a tag “he popped the question, Harry and David pineapple salsa with the tag “sweet and spicy romance” and Andes mints with the tag ” they’re mint to be”. All gender neutral, cheap, and something most people will love. I’m also having the guest write date night ideas on Popsicle sticks to be placed in an antique mason jar for the couple (another Pinterest idea”. Can’t wait to see how it goes! Lots of do-it-yourself and total cost will be less than $100

Thank You very much for all the great information. I will be laying rolled white plastic table cloth from Hobby Lobby and using winter branches lanterns we have for the wedding and the rose petal idea!

I like the idea of potted plants for decoration and you can use them for prizes, it is useful and decorative. Give seeds to remember your shower and with a flower theme or kitchen theme use herbs seeds.

At every bridal shower I’ve thrown I put together a wedding day emergency kit. It includes everything from Advil, deodorant, hair spray and a sewing kit, to batteries, duct tape and rope. You basically include everything that could help in any potential disaster on the big day. You can get creative, the list can go on and on. (You can p/u a lot of it at the dollar store or if you plan far enough out, p/u a few things here or there so it doesnt brake the bank all at once.) For the shower, I lay it out on a tray and make a game of it. Walk around the room once and then exit and have all the shower guests write down as many things off the tray they can remember. Whoever gets the most wins a prize. Then it also doubles as your present for the bride on her big day! This idea also works well for a baby shower with baby stuff like Tylenol and wipes instead!

For my bridal shower my mother-in-law asked a bunch of women attending to bring their wedding dresses. She hung them up around the room and it looked gorgeous! It was fun to hear each of the stories behind them (I asked) and each woman was excited to share a little piece of her special day with me. It added a great effect.

I just came across this post and thought I would add my ideas for others that stumble upon it. I am having a bridal shower for my daughter in May. I decided to have a brunch for a few reasons. Having a brunch allows people to still have the better part of the day after the shower, and brunch food (if done right) can be less expensive than lunch or dinner foods. For serving dishes I went to all the Goodwill stores within a 25 mile radius to my house. I was able to get sterling silver serving ware and various cut galss and crytal dishes. I also was able to get enough glasses. The plates and silverware I already had. Don’t forget to look around your own house when planning the venue. I will have the shower at my house. By removing the living room furniture there will be plenty of room for tables and chairs. Also, depending on the type of shower you are having you may want to just have it in your backyard.

Here are some great tips for saving money:
If you have a sewing machine buy two rolls of streamers in different colors. Stagger the ends and then sew using a tight stitch/gather stitch. It will curl the streamers and you have a ruffled look.
Take balloons and hang them using ribbon, thread or yarn upside down from the ceiling or fans. Looks really fun and bright it’s sorta like creating your own chandeliers
Use vintage brooches and attach pieces of paper with guests names to the pins. Guests can wear them as name tags and take the pins home as favors. Go resale/thrift store shopping for pins.
Another fun centerpiece idea is for a tea party buy fun hats with feathers or lace and use them as centerpieces. You can use them as prizes one for each table.

For my Daughter-in-Laws Shower I expanded on the Make a Wedding Dress game with a foot of cheap tulle,white kitchen garbage bags, a roll of ribbon,the usual roll of toilet paper, along with tape and scissors at each table. While the ladies were designing their dresses, the bride and groom were taken into another room where the bride “decorated” the groom with a wedding dress! Her Mom and I were in the room also for the fun. The bride came up with a very original dress and veil for the groom along with undergarments, a thong and bra! We brought him in the room just before the judging. We all had alot of laughs and it was the hit of the party. He was such a good sport that he wore the outfit until the gift opening! Note: you’ll need more of each item to decorate him with.

I went to my pastor’s daughter’s wedding shower last spring and one of the most memorable things we did was we made wedding dresses out of toilet paper. We were split into groups of four or five and all you had was a roll of toilet paper, a roll of scotch tape, and a half hour to create a wedding dress on one of the people in your group. The only rule was that you could only use those two things. Ater the half hour we had something like a fashion show where one person in the group explained the theme so to speak of the dress and after all the dresses were showed the bride-to-be picked her favotite dress and that group got a bag of prizes to split. in the bag were colorful nail files and scented hand sanitizer.(the bride-to-be work at bath and bopdy works) The prizes were cute and useful not to mention they wernt very expensive.

Plenty of great ideas already mentioned!
I wanted to add an easy inexpensive punch recipe that ALWAYS goes over good at any function
-I mix no name brand gingerale with pink lemonade from concentrate until the flavour is just right and to spice things up i slice up lemon wedges and grapefruit slices, lime wedges and whatever fruit i have lying around and make them ahead of time into ice chunks; helps to keep the punch cool and each guest will get a little bit of fruit in their glass as well
-my favourite thing about this is that you can make ahead of time and it is relatively inexpensive

As for decorations, I recommend using tissue paper to make round flower like balls to hang from the ceiling for inexpensive decoration and since tissue paper comes in all colours and is sold at most dollar stores, it makes for an easy decoration that doesn’t break the bank
(If you dont know what I’m trying to explain, just google search “tissue paper flowers” under images

I agree a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower is the way to go! We will make some very elegant food, cheaper than hiring a private chef. We bring games and PRIZES and are very entertaining! We ensure your guests buy the gifts YOU want! We clean up and take our dishes home and leave you to enjoy the party & the food! A Pampered Chef Bridal Shower is a WIN-WIN!
Good Luck! ~Betty

Well….if you don’t have a place in your house to have the party, ask someone who is coming to the party if they have any space. This could be counted as their gift to the bride.
For the food: grab a cakemix and whip up some cupcakes. This is super simple, frost them and garnish them with fruit like strawberrys or, with whatever fits the theme.
Take Ritz crackers, make or buy some creem chese spread, put it on the cracker then garnish with a sliced olive, chese, tomatoes ect. Pickles, cracker, chese and meat is also a easy option.
OR get ice cream, cherries, chocolate syrup, heart shaped sprinkels,sliced fruit,nuts, and any chocolate bars or candy and make sundaes, You can buy darling little cups or bowls at Dollar Tree. For drinks: punch, tea (hot or cold), ice coffee is so easy to make, and you can get little cups also at dollar tree. 😉
Decor:dollar tree, dollar tree, dollar tree!!!!you can get the cutest stuff there.

My husband is the Pastor of a large church & the staff wives and myself host churchwide showers for our children. I have found that it is much more cost effective and elegant if we make the showers as simple as possible. As we usually have them on Sunday afternoon, we’ve found that most ladies have had a big lunch and are not interested in eating at the shower. So, we forego all the usual trimmings and go strictly with homemade cakes (displayed on pretty cake plates – may or may not be pedestals), cocktail nuts and punch. Everyone seems to always enjoy the cakes and they love the slushy punch we serve. We order white linen table cloths through our church and use colored plates and napkins. We use the clear forks and clear punch cups. (These can be bought in bulk at Sam’s.)We also either use flowers from one of our yards or buy them at the local grocery store to arrange ourselves. The older I get, the more I realize that simple is always the best way to go.

When the ladies at church give a bridal shower, they often reserve space at a local Italian restaurant. People take care of their own checks, and someone pays for the bride (or in the case of my daughter, someone paid for her AND her fiancee who came along.)

I know this is a couple weeks late….but when I was the maid f honor for my sister, I threw her a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower. I already had a consultant and my sister like PC. I had her select items from the catalog that she was interested in and the guests could choose from her registry what they wanted to buy her. The consultant and I planned the menu and she prepared and served the dishes…about a 10-15 min talk and at the end we were all treated to a lovely brunch. I did add a punch and a more lite-fare items. But my food cost were under $30.00 for 12 people. I used white linens (already had) and used mismatched china from my antique/yardsale finds. We used my backyard as the setting. The guest who were already familiar w/ PC items could even purchase their own personal items and they counted towards the show. At the end, she received what she liked, guest did not have to go out and shop, I didn’t have to cook and her party allowed for 3 1/2 price items and I sprang for the cookware for her that retails for over $400.00 and paid $200.00 and it has a Lifetime warranty, so it worked out well. As favors I gave everyone a Season’s Best catalog that I purchased earlier and they are only $1.00. I always keep them on hand for teacher gifts, thank you’s etc. I worked out well, I just put a label that reference the Bridal Shower 2008. In fact I shared the idea and have been invited to 2 others myself. ****I am no way associated by Pampered Chef in anyway, and I am sure there are other cooking parties that you can turn into any type of party you desire…just have to use your thinking cap. Hope you have fun, it’s not a NEW idea, but a neat concept if you enjoy the products.

For my daughter’s bridal shower we didn’t do a big cake – they are expensive and no one really eats it – instead we bought plastic champagne glasses and put cupcakes in them at different angles – this not only made a cute table decoration at each person’s plate but served as a favor if you wanted. Or set some cupcakes on stands and adorn with the champagne glasses. A cute favor we did was just packs of gum wrapped in wrapping paper the theme of the shower – or the color. For my DIL to be we are using scrapbook paper in playing card/Vegas theme. Wrap individual packs of gum – tie ribbons – done. We got plates, napkins, tablecloths at dollar store.
We had people sign in the bridal shower in her wedding guest book – there are so many pages in those things and then as gifts were opened the bridesmaid wrote down beside the name the gift that was purchased.
We also had her purchase thank you cards before hand – a blank envelope was placed at each place setting – the guests were ask to fill out their name and address on the envelope and they were collected in a basket – one was drawn for a door prize but the good thing was the envelopes were already addressed for the bride’s thank you cards – a time saver for her. Another thing we did at daughter’s shower was in the invite ask each person to bring a pantry item with them. We had an empty table for them to place them on and blank index cards for them to place their name on – depositing in a bowl. One name was drawn from that and a $20 gift card was given. They knew ahead of time a gift card would be given. It was so neat to see items that were purchased!!!
My daughter’s theme was classy country as she called it – instead of purchasing glasses we borrowed 3 dozen pint mason jars from a friend and I had 2 dozen and we used those for glasses – serving lemonade and iced tea.
Centerpieces were odd vases we collected from family and friends – all glass and put a little colored rock, marble, gems and just a couple of flowers – we purchased 1 bush at dollar general and cut it apart – it was $5. BTW – Dollar General has a $5 coupon for this Saturday.

One inexpensive way to add a little detail to a bridal shower is to make candy using candy molds. This can be a little time consuming, but the molds are reusable and will run about $2 each (most molds will make multiple pieces of candy at a time). Also, I don’t worry with using the candy melts that only add to the cost, I use cheaper blocks of milk chocolate and white chocolate (like Almond Bark) and dye the white chocolate any colors I need. Like I said this can get a little time consuming but can really add some nice detail for a budget-minded shower.

White flowers, white flowers, white flowers! Mix them up (tulips, roses, carnations, tiger lilies, etc.) with a little greenery from outside. Think outside of the box, putting them in champagne glasses, silver plated water pitchers, sugar bowls, or whatever looks pretty. Go to Costco or Sam’s and get a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips and a huge box of fresh strawberries. Make chocolate dipped strawberries AHEAD of time and chill. For more effect, drizzle a little white chocolate on each with a fork. Yum! Always looks elegant. Serve with a variety of “tea” sandwiches (chicken salad with almonds and raisins, egg salad, cucumber salad – thin sliced cucumbers with a greek yogurt spread). You can make these in advance, serve chilled as well. A few bowls of nuts and hershey kisses. Make it simple. Lots of clean, white linen, maybe mirrors to place candles. Don’t forget soft background music.

Hi, how do you make the chocolate strawberries? I always have a hard time getting the chocolate to stick. Do the berries need to be room temp or cold when you dip them? Do you just melt the chocolate in a saucepan?
Thanks for your help!

Dipped strawberries or anything. Key is needs to be dry, clean and dry. with melted chocolate moisture is your enemy. Quick easy melt with no chase of over cooking; take two 24 oz. ziploc rectangle containers put two bottoms together (create insulating to keep water hot without outside being hot to hold – take one lid and cut out center indent (draw size from bottom of the 9.5 oz. rectangle ziploc)secure the lid & fill 3/4 with boiling water. fill the 9.5 oz container with mini morsels semi-sweet Nestle chocolate & dark chocoloate morsels (more or less to taste) you can also use some Andes Creme DE Ment for a refreshing taste with fruit. Set small container of chocolate inside the opening of cutout lid. Let sit a moment -stir chocolate till smooth with long handled infant spoons, frosting knife or butter knife. Eat as you dip or give a twist put on parchment or wax paper lined sheet freeze for 30 min. and serve. can get fancy and use white chocolate with to make tuxedo strawberries. better yet have one at every table in center of platter full of variety of fruits & marshmellows/salty nuts, waffer cookies & chips/cheesy items for everyone to dip there way through the party. long frill toothpicks. at the end have each table count off quietly at their group. the bride averting her eyes & ears then have her pick a number from one to the number at each table. That person gets to take home their own personal chocolate fondue container.

For a bridal shower we did, we used pictures of them throught their life as centerpieces. WE got really pretty picture frames from the dollar tree, and put the pics in, then we put three to a round table in kind of a triange in the center. They were a hit. Everyone loved going around and looking at them. And on the food line, and gift table I took some of my beautiful frames with my wedding pics in and borrowed them for the day, went and look up love quotes and printed them on card stock with the shower color. It turned out beautiful!!!

Breaking with tradition can be a lot of fun. We were on a time crunch due to overseas guests and such. So were gathered everyone at a mall. Broke them into women’s teams and men’s teams (bridal shower and safe bachelor party at the same time). Gave each team a share of the money we would have spent at the shower if traditional, and told them they had 30 minutes to purchase gifts that “could be worn” on a honeymoon. Must say the best “gifts” were free or very inexpensive. Went next door to a buffet, (everyone paid own way in) and opened the gifts. Prizes for most appropriate, funniest, most outrageous finished the fun. Not traditional, but very memorable and unique.

That sounds like an incredibly fun idea. My daughter and her fiance’ want to have a scavenger hunt for their bachelorette and bachelor parties instead of the usual going out to a club or bar…I can’t wait!!

I had a Pampered Chef bridal shower. The consultant brought the food (she cooked as part of the demo) and the entertainment (the cooking demo). Additionally, the guests didn’t have to bring a present. They ordered from the catalog. Several even went in together to get some of the more expensive items. As the bride, I loved it! By the end of the night, my new kitchen was all decked out in the best supplies. I highly recommend the Pampered Chef shower!

I have PC consultant for 14 years and these are truly easey showers for the hostess and the bride-to-be gets a wonderful variety of items she can use. Some may choose cookware or stonware, others may need more entertaining pieces. There are items for every budget, from $1 cookbooks to $500 sets of cookeware (with lifetime warranty) and everything in between.

I hosted a bridal shower for my niece, I am fortunate enough to have access to a party rental so I was able to use their equipment for free. But, I think some of finishing touches made it extra special. I went to Walmart and purchased a seasonal candle in a jar (her shower was in the fall) for $1.00, wrapped it in clearphane and tied it with a coordinating bow. I placed them at each place setting and they looked beautiful. I served one cocktail that was used a toast, I named it the “Bridal Bellini”, I used Prosecco (less expensive than champagne, but delicious) and peach nectar. I made chicken salad and put it in a beautiful serving bowl lined with lettuce, and then had a tray with different breads (croissants, rolls,etc.) Made two other salads, and a dessert and it was an elegant luncheon that was not very expensive.

My bridal shower was great. On the invite everyone was told to make their favorite recipe. They were to buy a new dish to serve it in and a copy of the recipe. We served all the yummy things people brought. In the end I got to take home all of the new dishes, serving platters, ect. and a recipe box full of delicious treats and meals.

Don’t spend money on decorations! Use whatever you have at home, or if you know someone that has fun home decor (like Parisian decor) ask to borrow it. My sister has hosted several bridal showers using all of her own home decor. Also ask the bridesmaids to each bring a food whether it’s sandwiches, fruit and dip, or a dessert. As for favors…I wouldn’t worry about them unless the bride specifically asks for them. They usually get thrown away, or you’re left with all the extras that don’t get taken home. If you choose to do favors…make an edible one, like chocolate dipped sugar cookies. Hope this helps! Have fun!

Look around your house & find things that can be used that you don’t have to buy–think outside of the box (coffee beans as a filler in a vase, mason jars, etc). Recycle–if you use a watermelon (or pumpkin) take in to consideration the way you cut it & reuse as a vase for a centerpiece. I used a pumpkin & monogrammed it with the letter of the new last name to be. Favors–use fresh fruit–She’s the APPLE of his eye or they are the perfect PEAR(pair).

If your budget doesn’t allow for champagne or if you just don’t drink alcohol, then get sparkling cider and add a raspberry in the bottom of each glass. The color and bubbles are really pretty and very elegant!

Cutting sandwiches into small tea-sized wedges is budget friendly and simple. Tuna salad, chicken salad, cucumber and cream cheese, the possibilities are endless. Add a tray of seasonal fresh fruit and fresh veggies for a simple and economical spread.

Finally, instead of a bakery cake, cut brownies into small bites and place them in little candy papers for presentation. Put them on pedestals for added effect.

Decor:
Tulle is cheap and your best friend, use it with white twinkle lights and some scattered rose petals. A bag of rose petals is very inexpensive and gives you the same effect as a large bouquet.

I love this idea. I have seen the tulle and white lights trick and it’s beautiful!! The pedestal trick is wonderful too. Be sure to use “build up” in multiple layers to keep things from looking too boring. Also, check craigslist for “leftover” or second-hand party knick-knacks. I’ve seen lots of folks pass off the decorations they used for the kids’ party, maybe someone has something from a bridal shower?

My sister is getting married in May and I am the maid of honor. To save money we bought out the white lights after christmas…Only to realize last night that they all had green wires…Green wires don’t look nice under tool, so make sure you get white lights with white wires! We are returning ours tomorrow!

I am a professional event planner and I can give you some inside tips. A lot of showers I throw have sandwich platters. I can tell you first hand that ordering the platter from the grocery store deli IS less expensive than trying to do it yourself. (I worked in a deli for a year also.) The workers there will want the tray to look beautiful so we often fill it up with more than the approximate number of slices because we put our names on it as to who prepared it and we want it to look the best. Also, they usually put a free pound of salad in the middle, like potato or macaroni. They garnish it with romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes and olives, and this stuff will all cost you a fortune. The prices on the order sheet look hefty, but trust me, you’ll get more than your money worth! (This is true for their fruit and veggie platters as well.)

A cheap do-it-yourself favor is a bookmark printed on card stock. You can put a heart or symbol relative to whatever theme you’re using and a cute little bride-to-be poem with the couple’s names and wedding date at the bottom. You can find lots of templates for Microsoft Word online if you Google around, or you can evenly space the columns yourself and use a paper cutter to make them crisp and straight. Punch a hole in the top and tie in a pretty colored ribbon.

Another key to cutting costs is DELEGATE! Have each bridesmaid bring a door prize. I usually use theme baskets, (ice cream, car wash, scrapbooking, gardening, etc.) Tell them they can spend as much or as little as they like. I usually get a nice turn out because all of the people asked to do one are competing to have the best basket. (They don’t want theirs to be the last one picked from the door prize table.)

A lot of bridal showers are thrown in church halls. Before you buy tablecloths, see if they have any extra plastic ones or fabric ones that you can use for free if you agree to launder them. A lot of people who buy supplies for parties they throw at these halls have extra and leave them for the church to use however they like. My church also has solid color fabric tablecloths that we will loan if the family agrees to wash and fold them before returning them. You may only spend $10 on the plastic ones from the dollar store, but every dollar counts and the cloth ones will look more elegant anyway.

I’m a total fan of address labels and office supply stickers. You can literally print whatever you want on them and use them to personalize a wide variety of items. Mini candy bars, dollar store candles, etc. I often use the business card kits and type a cute poem or message on there and then hole punch it and affix it to any item the bride-to-be chooses. It can be so simple and cheap but the personalized tag makes all the difference.

Some good ideas, particularly about the table cloths. However, I’m not sure where you’re shopping to compare veggie trays and veggie tray supplies, but I’ve never found a place that makes them cheaper than I can make myself with some frugal shopping and lots of coupons! 🙂 Keep your eye out for good deals and don’t be stubborn about using “only” certain kinds of veggies. Change it up depending on the season, and you will save money! If you have a suggestion as to where veggie trays are that cheap, please let me know! 🙂

The walmart where i live makes HUGE trays for $35. They make cheese ones with grapes and a cheese spread in the middles and there are soo many cheese squares. There is no way i could make one that size for cheaper. They also do Veggie trays for the same price and include a dip in the middle. They are really big and look very nice.

Definitely consider a potluck. Ladies love to bring dishes to share and love it more when you ask them to share a recipe! One of the bridesmaids or the group of them can assemble the recipes into a scrapbook-type recipe book from friends a family.
Consider even making it a theme – food to butter up your spouse, a dish that their spouse is especially fond of or even their go-to dish in a pinch! Ladies will often bring more than one recipe if requested just in case you have a hard time narrowing it down – it never hurts to ask!

In addition, asking grandmothers, mothers and aunts is a great way to assemble an ecclectic but beautiful group of serving dishes for the things you choose to furnish. After all, who uses their china enough? The more you can tie the bride and grooms parents and extended family in the better for the entire event!

I was going to suggest the same thing. Binders are inexpensive and you can by plastic binder sheets to fit 3X5 recipe cards. Decorate the binder ahead of time to personalize, super easy if you by the kind that you can insert a piece of paper into it for the front cover and binder edge. When guests come in, get their recipe cards and by the time you are done you have a wonderful cookbook for the bride. It also gives guests something to chat about. I love to share recipes and so do most people.

A great favor would be to have the guests e-mail you the recipes. There are many downloadable recipe cards online (for free) and you can get small photo albums for a $1 (at least where I live at the dollar store). Print out all the recipes and put into the small photo album. Now everyone has the recipes and I just cost you $1 plus ink.

Love the dishes idea too Jessica! China in ones and twos can be found super cheaply at thrift stores. You may want to ask them to bring the recipe in a dish or serving dish the bride can keep.

I am throwing a shower for my best friend in May, i have kept a close eye out for free soap and candle coupons for bath and body works for gifts for the games. I also got really cute recipe cards at the dollar store and sent one with each invite for the guest to fill out their favorite recipe for the bride for her very own cook book. Since Im throwing two showers for the bride (family differences) Im having one as a brunch with juice and cinnamon rolls and fruit. The other is a late afternoon so we are doing a veggie tray and snacks.

Fresh flowers on all the tables always looks nice. Just use whatever is in season, and find people that will let you pick them from their yard or find flowers growing wild that you could pick. Pretty stones or glass marbles from the craft store, and candles around the flower centerpieces are pretty and very inexpensive

Now is the time to buy some romantic themed items (think hearts) after Valentines day….hit up Michaels, Hobby Lobby and the Dollar stores. Also using tulle to decorate goes a long way and is pretty inexpensive. Serving finger foods and appetizers is the easiest and least expensive. Round up the Bridesmaids for help. Good luck!

Food is a big expense at any party. The more you can do yourself the cheaper the party will be in the long run. You could make the shower a recipe shower to help with the food. Ask everyone to prepare a dish to be served, and include the recipe to be placed into a recipe box for the bride-to-be. In addition to this, ask everyone to bring one of the spices used in their recipe and have a basket for them to be placed in on the gift table. This will make a nice spice cabinet starter for the bride-to-be. Also, make your own desserts. I recently came across a link that showed how to make cake balls that looked like chocolate dipped strawberries. Make cake balls as normal but shape the balls into strawberry shapes and chill, then dip in chocolate. You could make these, along with other small desserts such as mini cupcakes or brownies and place in little cupcake liners to make them more presentable.

I’ve found that “tradition” is code for “expensive,” so while my fiance and I have been planning our wedding, we’ve made it a point to evaluate traditions along the way. One of which, is the bridal shower. My fiance and I moved in together 2 years ago, at which time we merged 2 households of stuff. After a yard sale and several trips to Goodwill, we decided we didn’t need what the typical bridal shower resulted in…more STUFF. So when the girls at work approached me about a shower, I (politely) declined and invited them to lunch instead. We’re getting married at the very elegant and historic public library downtown, so in lieu of gifts, we asked for a donation to their staff (the library insisted we hold the ceremony after-hours and they’ll stay late). After the luncheon, which was simple, stress-free, and spectacular, we visited the library and proudly made a hefty donation in our guests’ honor.

I say, to heck with tradition…and tea lights…and uncomfortable bridal bingo. Save your money and have a potluck or a buy-your-own lunch with the ladies. Trust me, your sanity will thank you later.

EXACTLY! The majority of people don’t even know the traditions behind half of the stuff they do for weddings. AND it’s all expensive. A wedding is not an “event” its a marriage. It should be a statement of the bride and groom and a celebration…not a $20,000 party. People these days seem to forget what weddings are really for.

I like to do my own flower arrangements. I purchase the flowers at Sam’s Club for cheap and buy a pretty vase at Hobby Lobby (if glass isn’t half off, you can use the 40% off coupon). This way you can choose a pretty vase and flowers that fit your color scheme and your friend will love it. Another place to look for vases or small gifts for the games would be Ross or TJ Maxx. Best of luck!!

I was in Salvation Army Store Wednesday and saw MANY clear glass vases for .99 or 1.99. Lots of sizes. Run them through the diswasher and they sparkle like new! Also, have someone 55 or older make the purchase and get 25% off all on the senior day!

Something we did at my cousin’s, is we took all the bows from the presents and made them into a bouquet to use at the rehearsal! It looked awesome and was something fun to do! That gives you an activity and also it lets you cheap out on getting a real bouquet for your rehearsal!

The easiest that I have seen it is to use a paper plate as a base. Cut a slit in the plate to about the center. Cut a hole in the center. Roll the plate into a wide cone leaving some space in the center for ribbons. We have taped or stapled the plate to stay in that shape. Then just tape or staple bows and ribbons to the plate. I like to have the long ribbons stuffed down the center hole to trail or drape. Hope that helps 🙂

I threw my sister’s bridal shower for maybe a total cost of $250.
We held it in our church’s fellowship hall so that was free.
Decorations, table cloth, plates, cups, cutlery(etc) and game prizes we bought from Dollar Tree. We didn’t have it catered we made baked penne, bought from a restaurant supply store italian beef and rolls, had salad, chips & dip, veggie tray, fruit tray and a cake. Some friends offered to help make some of the appetizers so this wasn’t included in the price. For beverages we had punch, coffee, tea and water. Some of the decorations we were able to carry over into the wedding so that was a double bonus as well.

I would start with the bride’s colors and themes and then put together a complete plan from there. I would search out white linens (if you don’t have them, ask mom, grandma, etc… or rent from a party goods store) and use colored paper plates and napkins that relate back to her color scheme. Brunch is always nice to serve and economical – think egg casserole, fruit salad and croissants – things you can make ahead, that you can purchase the ingredients for little money.

for a game have you thought about dividing the guests into teams, each team assigns a model, then “designs” a wedding dress out of toilet paper. I use pretty plants on the tables and use them as prizes for the games. Good luck!

I am in the same boat…having a bridal shower for my cousin’s wedding in two weeks, and we are working out the final details right now! If you have all of the bridesmaids bring a couple of wrapped/gift bagged door prizes, that cuts down on the amount you have to spend there. Also, ask each bridesmaid to bring a dish to pass or an appetizer. That way you don’t have to do all of the cooking either! See if anyone has a house big enough to house the party so you don’t have to rent a hall.